Clancy Gordon was a commercial fisherman for several years before earning degrees from the University of Washington and Washington State University. A prolific author and researcher, Gordon became a national expert on the effects of fluoride emissions and other air pollutants on plants. He was a witness in many legal cases and adversary hearings brought against polluters during the 1960s and ’70s. Gordon’s work involved him in cases across Montana and the country, as well as in Canada and Europe. He founded the regentially approved Environmental Studies laboratory in 1963 (which was named for him after his death) and helped establish the Environmental Studies Graduate Program. The Clancy Gordon Environmental Scholarship is awarded each year to graduate students for use of scientific knowledge in resolving environmental problems.